space includes a lectern that can be used in different locations
and a large screen at one end. A hexagonal-design carpet here is
from Shaws Carpets, whilst the rear wall features a stack-panel
cladding system using recycled timber. The carpet continues into
The Terrace beyond to link the spaces when the requirement is
for a unified, larger space.
THE TERRACE:
‘The Terrace design was in fact a revamp of an existing space, but
the client was very keen to have something more contemporary
here and also lighter, brighter and more connected in feel. This
space also needed to act as an overspill area, whilst also being
connected to the rest of the business and the building’s exterior’,
Gurvinder Khurana explained.
The feel of The Terrace was to be homely, cosy and intimate.
The manifestation on the folding glass wall linking it to the
presentation space is a pointillist take on a field of bluebells, in
a further biophilic-inspired element bespoke-designed by align.
Furniture here includes a row of bleachers, a form of mobile
storage with the appearance of wooden trunks, whilst loose
furniture includes striking red and blue hexagonal stools with
white tables and green and ocean-blue chairs with angled backs.
A planted mullion detail creates a more domestic, conservatory
style to a otherwise corporate London Wall system - a first for
this manufacturer.
Alongside the circulation void at the centre of the building and
demarcating the edge of The Terrace is a row of high-back booth
seats from Icons of Denmark, specially adapted for this scheme
with castors, so that they can be moved, if necessary, in case of
large-scale townhall meet-ups, with a contiguous AV solution also
integrated between the two spaces.
‘The Terrace is a communal space with major biophilic impetus
and the planting strategy for it has had a very positive reception
from staff’, Gurvinder Khurana explained. ‘align worked together
with Plant Plan, as we did on the client’s earlier offices in Reading,
to achieve this. Other planting includes a series of eight hanging
terraria set within glass globes, which are visible from other
parts of the office through the glass walls. There is also an indoor
garden alongside two phone booths, a meeting table and chairs
and shelves where awards the company has won are displayed,
along with inverted sky plants by Boskke, used both within The
Terrace and on the 9th floor.’
The Terrace area is also home to a Tech Assist help desk that
provides local IT support that staff can engage with informally as
they go about their day, sorting email queries, phone issues and
offering hardware support as needed.
THE 9TH FLOOR
On the 9th floor, a series of felt-walled phone and single-working
booths are by Buzzispace, whilst a previously under-used corridor
area has been made much more dynamic through connecting it
to the rest of the building to create a new semi-formal meeting
space.
MULTI-FUNCTIONAL / PRESENTATION AREA: ‘Previously, this area had both quiet booths and lounging sofas,
so it had proved confusing to members of the team in terms of
proposed usage’, Gurvinder Khurana explained.
The multi-functional/presentation area also has completely
moveable furniture in the form of stacking chairs, along with folding
Torino tables from Brunner, that can be wheeled to one side. The The sofas were therefore removed and the space made more
logical and connecting, adjacent to the series of private phone
booths.
COMMUNAL PANTRY:
A communal pantry area on the 8th floor is surrounded by glass
dividing walls, made more dynamic via a film manifestation in a
highly-contemporary geometric pattern, applied on two walls
in black and white and one in colour. The pattern reflects the
geometry of the corridors beyond, with the colours forming a subtle
reference to the company’s Australian origins and in particular to
the earthy tones of Aboriginal art. Rubber flooring is the pantry
area is from Nora with a raised disc pattern.